Exxon, Shell can come back to explore for oil in Somalia
Exxon and Shell may return to Somalia before an oil bid that the East African country plans to hold later in 2019, Reuters reported on Friday, referring to a statement from the Somalia oil department.
Shell and Exxon, who had a joint venture to explore five quarters offshore Somalia, stopped exploration and development in 1990 during force majeure due to the long-standing hostilities in the country.
The two oil reservoirs have accrued rent to the government Since then, Shell has told Reuters in a statement, while the Petroleum Directorate in Somalia said on Friday that an agreement was signed on June 21 in Amsterdam, and settling the problems with rental and others. obligations on offshore blocks incurred.
Exxon and Shell agreed to hold talks with Somalia's government to convert their decades-old contracts into line with the new petroleum law that Somalia underwent in May.
Despite this development, force majeure remains in place, Shell told Reuters.
Last month, Somalia made its new petroleum law, hoping that it is "at the beginning of a journey that will be the key to Somalia's sustainable development and poverty reduction, as well as continued development of the stable state and civilian institutions," Somalias said. Oil and Mineral Resources, Abdirashid Mohamed Ahmed
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Somalia currently does not produce oil, but hopes it can keep much oil and gas as "recently completed seismic programs highlighted similar geological structures to those with proven oil and gas reserves in neighboring Seychelles, Madagascar, Kenya, Tanzania and Mozambique pools showing that Somalia could be one of the most significant oil games in Eastern Africa, says the Ministry of Petroleum in May.
In February, Somalia launched a licensing round for 1[ads1]5 blocks The bid date for November 7, 2019.
The country hopes that seismic surveys and drilling of exploration wells could begin in 2020-2021.
While Somalia is preparing details of an oil bid, Somalia will also meet in September 2019 at the Hague International Court over its maritime dispute with Kenya. In February this year, Kenya broke diplomatic relations with neighboring Somalia after a series of several oil and gas blocks escalated into an open conflict.
By Tsvetana Paraskova for Oilprice.com
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